12yr Male Cat On Xanax Still Going Outside Litter Box

[george775]

I've got a 12yr male cat, shares an average sized home with another cat. I've had both since they where kittens both cats are male. littler and boxs are the same type as I've had since they where kittens. I change things with cats very, very slowly. No new changes at home.

• 12yr male has chewed the fur off his stomach/legs for years treatment has been steroid shot bi monthly that appears to suppress symptoms
• 10 months ago same cat starting going beside his litterbox he's never done that before
• Multiple blood tests are good, urinalysis is clean, ultrasound found no growths/tumors
• $1,000+ later and he's diagnosed with a cloudy bladder, had a second opinion same diganosis
• Prescribed Xanax & CD Diet which has helped
• Water intake/appetite at times increases massively = peeing on the outside of his box
• Current water intake is near zero and he's peeing all over every box and beside one box yet again
• Weight is down from 18lbs in Feb to 12lbs in Nov - he's eating constantly
• Chewing his fur off has become more frequent with steroid shots lasting a week or two at best this also coincides with peeing beside his litter box.
• Personality has changed from very independent/playful cat to following me everywhere inside the house and meowing almost constantly no playing anymore.
• He has obviously bladder issues but it's as if they flare up he has serious issues for a few days then they die down for a few weeks or a month then repeat.

I don't know what else to do with this cat. I've tried everything I've been very careful about his food, no treats, kept up with his shots. He's an indoor only cat that's escaped out into the front yard a few times. He's never gone inside the house, always on the outside of the same litter box in the garage when he develops issues.

I'm at the point where he's going to be an outside only cat which would be a death sentence to him or he may need to take a long cat nap.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Ya know, I know that his blood tests have been good, but a lot of this sounds as if he may have a thyroid that is really wonky. I have that issue, although mine is always normal to low...it bounces around all over the place, it affects my appetite (I can go from ravenous 24/7 to no appetite at all 5-7 times a week), my thirst, my bathroom habits, everything. My doctor said that if my thyroid gland was a pancreas, I would have "brittle diabetes." Worth exploring, perhaps.

 

[Dilutetortislave]

Wow. I'm really shocked that a vet would give a cat steroid injections that many times. The widely known side effects of steroids are increased appetite, increased thirst & increased urination.

In cats, steroids can also trigger diabetes, especially if the cat is overweight. I've seen this happen several times. Steroids can also trigger heart disease, especially if the cat has a heart murmur. I've seen this happen to a couple of client's cats and what's really sad is that one of them was only a few years old.

I always think it's a good idea to recheck bloodwork, which I would do if it was my cat- specifically a total T4 & blood glucose, also kidneys (BUN & creatinine or renal profile) and urine specific gravity. Things on bloodwork can change in a short amount of time.

 

[george775]

Thank you for the replies.

You've no idea how many times I've had blood work and urine pulled on this cat, it was on average twice a month at one point until I said stop as all it done was show the exact same results every time and added additional stress on the cat. Correction he gets a steroid shot once every other month not twice a month.

Without steroids he'll chew himself until bleeding not to mention he turns into an absolute bastard. He won't let me sleep, sit or eat. He's constantly howling at the top of his lungs without it. While he's on Xanax he'll chew until bleeding and be quiet content about it. I was hoping Xanax might avoid the need for steroids but it hasn't.

Appetite is part steroids but mostly Xanax from what I've seen so far. Water intake has been the same regardless of drugs. Yes it's increased slightly with steroids but at times he'll drink an entire dish of water then go pee, then more water and pee.. he gets stuck in a loop and keeps going and going. More recently no water while straining to pee. I thought he was blocked last night until this morning I found he went in his box and today has been behaving normally however from past experience I expect this to change.

It seems he goes through cycles of high water intake, going to pee or a new one (that I've noticed) him straining to go pee. Then floodgates open and he's back to normal for a few days. There wasn't any crystals found in his urine, no growths or blockages but it seems like he does get blocked from time to time, strains irritating his bladder.